A Dance Between Wolves
by kitcat3758
Summary: Starting with the fight with the hunters in the hospital, this story follows Liam and Theo as they struggle with their feelings for each other in a messy but accurate manner. It's sort of slow burn but not really... you'll see what I mean. Let me know what you think! This is my first fan fiction ever so I hope you like it! Part two is in the works!
1. Chapter 1

Theo heard a gun being shot off floors above him as he frantically slammed his clawed fist into the third floor button. Liam was up there being shot at by Gabe and his equally as inexperienced hunter buddies while Theo was stuck in the world's slowest elevator, wolfed-out, ready to protect the young beta. He searched for the familiar beat of Liam's heart— it was faster than Theo had ever heard before.

"Go ahead Liam, run" Theo heard Gabe's voice say. Theo slammed his fist into the button and the doors finally slid open.

There was Liam, looking down the barrels of three guns, within grabbing distance. Theo lunged forward, wrapping his arms protectively around Liam, and pulled him back into the safety of the elevator. Gabe raced towards them firing wildly. Theo threw Liam against the side wall of the elevator and pressed his body against Liam's.

Liam's hot breath on his neck sent a shiver down Theo's back causing him to bite his lip to hold in a moan he refused to let Liam hear. Still being wolfed-out, Theo regretted the bite when he flinched in pain and tasted blood.

"What are you doing here?" Liam asked, still in Theo's embrace despite the fact that the elevator doors were closed. They were safe and just now realizing this, Theo quickly backed away from Liam and ran his fingers through his hair to clear his mind.

"I was just asking myself the same thing," Theo could never tell Liam the real reason. He couldn't be that vulnerable.

"You're bleeding," Liam stepped closer.

"It's nothing," Theo hastily said, wiping at his mouth.

Liam took another step. Theo couldn't look away from his brilliant blue eyes.

"You still didn't get it," Liam whispered, raising his finger hesitantly to Theo's lips. Liam looked up at him, meeting Theo's gaze. Eyes darting back to the blood, Liam's finger fluttered across his bottom lip and this time a light moan escaped.

Liam jumped back awkwardly and found himself near the door. Theo felt an urge the bring him back to the side just incase Gabe felt like firing again.

"Um…. thanks," Liam said, avoiding Theo's stunning eyes.

"For?"

"You know," Liam shuffle his feet, Theo could smell his anxiety, "for always saving me."

Theo wanted to tell Liam that he was his responsibility just as much as Theo was Liam's. All he wanted to do was grab Liam's waist and thrust his body against his, giving in to the tension. He didn't know how to tell him without feeling impotent so he just smirked.

"They still out there?" Theo asked, nodding at the door.

Liam listened and nodded. Theo could hear it too— the heartbeats of the hunters.

"Look, I'm not dying for you," Theo heard himself say as he stepped closer to Liam. If he had been listening, Liam could have heard the jump in Theo's heartbeat indicating otherwise.

"I'm not dying for you either," Liam moved in, closing the distance between them.

Theo's heart summersaulted in his chest. It had never occurred to him that he could feel anything like this. He hadn't even realized that he was capable of feelings of any kind. Up until recently, he hadn't known that the ever-growing ache in him caused by his sister repeatedly ripping his heart out wasn't a physical pain but an emotional manifestation of remorse and regret of his betrayal to her. And then there was everything else that he had done— taking innocent lives to make himself stronger… leaving him alone. This realization wouldn't have been possible if not for Liam, and he knew it. Without Liam, Theo had no anchor to reality. He made Theo want to be a decent human being and not the monster he had always been. He knew that there was no way he would ever be forgiven, especially if he never apologized, but the moment was never right to bring up the fact that he manipulated Liam into trying to kill Scott. How could anyone ever forgive someone for that?

"But I will fight with you," Liam's voice broke Theo's inner dialogue.

"Okay, let's fight," Theo happily agreed.

Theo tapped the open door button and looked at Liam wolfing up as he did the same. The hunters were right where they had left them. Theo growled and they charged in unison at the gunmen. Using the wall, Theo bounced to better attack his attacker. In his peripheral, he saw Liam doing the same exact maneuver.

Theo went down to better evade gunfire and take out the next man. He arched his back when he saw Liam's position behind him to create a springboard for him to take down the next hunter. Liam seized the opportunity and launched himself at the target. Theo stood to find Liam at the legs of the man wrestling to take his gun away. Using Liam's body to kick the hunter, the man toppled over. Together they hurled him away as Theo was in awe of their teamwork.

Melissa and Nolan rounded the corner just as a gunman was regaining consciousness. Mrs. McCall jabbed the man with her stun rod and Nolan took the gun away from the other man down. Theo began to wonder where Gabe had run off to when Nolan shouted at them to "get down!"

Theo and Liam turned to see Gabe reenter the hallway and open fire. Instinctively, Theo grabbed for Liam and threw him down the hallway before him. He knew he had lied when he said he wouldn't die for Liam, because of Liam, Theo knew that some people were worth dying for. Plus, he had already been to Hell and back. He could, and would, do it agin for the irritable beta.

He felt a bullet tear through his shoulder but didn't feel it exit. He fell to the ground, Liam fell with him. They sought shelter under separate gurneys. When the gun shots subsided, Liam sprang up and limped from Theo's line of sight. He heard a gunshot and for a moment he thought everything he had done had been for nothing. That he would get up and find Liam laying in an expanding pool of his own blood.

Thankfully, he heard Liam grunt, more gun shots, and more grunting. Theo turned to see Liam and Gabe fighting for the rifle, Liam winning, and then watched him proceed to head-butt Gabe. Theo let a laugh escape from his healed lips.

A rain of bullets fell onto Liam and Gabe. Theo whipped his head to see a hunter standing trying to get a good shot. Nolan knocked him out from behind with a fire extinguisher before Theo could get up and end it his own way.

Theo pulled himself up and took in the scene. Nolan and Melissa were standing and so was Liam with help from Melissa. Theo wanted to run to Liam but something stopped him— a weak voice.

"It hurts," Gabe whimpered and then repeated.

He felt his legs moving without his brain telling them to. Theo followed the bloody trail leading to a slumped Gabe. He looked up at him as he coughed up blood and Theo knew what he had to do but all he could hear was Mason echoing in his head that you can't take pain away unless you care. Theo was pretty sure that the sensation welling up inside of him was compassion. He knew that Gabe had tried to kill him… kill them all… multiple times. He had even beat Liam to a pulp. Half the atoms in Theo wanted to slash Gabe's throat and be the one to end it. The other half knew he shouldn't. Couldn't. Gabe was just a kid, bleeding out, alone and terrified. He had been manipulated and lied to, just as Theo had been.

He knelt down next to the boy and took his arm in his hands. Theo squeezed and let a tear escape from his eyes. The tear traveled down his cheek as black lines zoomed out of Gabe's body and into his own.

"Does it hurt anymore?" Theo whispered.

"No," Gabe uttered, blood spilling out of his mouth.

"Good."

Gabe's arm went still in Theo's hands. He gently laid it on the floor and slowly stood up. Everyone was looking at him, but his only focus was on Liam who was walking, without his limp, towards him. The bullet must of just grazed him— lucky son-of-a-bitch. Theo quickly wiped the tear from his cheek and walked toward Liam. They met in the middle but neither knew what to say. Liam reached out, as if to grab Theo's hand, but quickly dropped it and turned to Melissa.

"Do you think you could help us get Theo's bullet out?" Liam asked.

"Of course, but we need to check on the rest of the pack first," She had worry written all over her face.

Liam reached into his pocket and pulled out his phone, brushing Theo's arm with his. This casual, and most likely accidental, touch made Theo wish they were alone. He leaned into it, slightly, aware that Mason and Corey had joined Melissa and Nolan. Too many witnesses.

 _Did they all watch me take Gabe's pain?_

The thought of this made him beyond uncomfortable— like he was on display. He knew Liam had been watching, that was what gave him the courage to actually do it, but the others? He barely knew any of them since they all hated him. Melissa the most of all. He had murdered her son from which she was the only one to bring him back. Liam squeezed his forearm, pulling Theo back to reality.

"Scott," Liam exclaimed when Scott finally picked up.

"Is everyone okay?" Melissa asked. Liam repeated this to Scott.

"We are all alive. Everyone there?" Theo heard Scott respond. Theo's eyes wandered to Gabe, stayed there taking in his stillness, and back to Liam who was looking at him. Liam's hand went to his wrist and held on tight.

"We're okay," Liam responded. "Where are you guys, we can come to you."

"Actually, we are all exhausted and want to get some sleep. If everyone is okay, then let's meet up in the morning at the animal clinic."

Theo could imagine Scott not wanting to, or even not being able to, go back to his house after the shooting. Theo had a hard enough time going anywhere unless Liam was there. After being in Hell, Theo had changed. He didn't see the world as he use to. He cared about thing: how he thought about himself (which wasn't good) and how he cared and thought about Liam (which was).

"Okay," Liam sounded disappointed, "See you tomorrow."

Theo shook from Liam's grip and grabbed his hand. This time, Theo was the one who squeezed. Theo's eyes still were on Liam who ended the call and put his phone back into his pocket.

"They are all alive and okay," Liam said, looking at the others who were all looking at them with semi-shocked faces. Liam shook free from Theo and continued, "We are going to meet up with them tomorrow. Do you mind helping us with this now?" Liam said pointing at Theo's shoulder.

"Of course," Melissa said and motioned for them to follow her down the hall. Theo followed a few paces behind Liam.

Nolan nodded at them as they passed, indicating he was leaving.

"We're gonna go home," Mason said from behind them once Nolan was out of sight, "See you in the morning!"

Theo saw Corey's hand in Mason's as they turned for the elevator. They were probably going to go do it now that they had lived. Maybe even start in the elevator. The elevator where Theo realized he would do anything to save Liam when the Ghost Riders were closing in on them months ago.


	2. Chapter 2

Melissa's relief was evident as she lead them into a patient room with one bed. Liam had felt Theo's eyes on him down the hallway but hadn't dared turn around once to confirm this. Theo moved around him, careful not to make contact. Theo took his seat and stared at Liam.

 _Why is it so easy to stare back?_

Theo looked down Liam's body, then back up to his eyes sending hot waves trembling through Liam. Theo patted the spot next to him and Liam moved forward as if hypnotized.

He spread his legs just enough to let his cock breath and feel Theo's leg against his. There were so many thoughts going through his head.

 _What the fuck just happened?_

 _Had Theo really been able to take Gabe's pain? I couldn't even do that._

 _How did we fight so synchronized?_

 _Why did Theo take a bullet for me?_

 _Why did I lie when I told Theo I wouldn't die for him either?_

 _Why do I want to break Theo's nose again?_

 _Why did I have to look away in the elevator when Theo looked at my lips?_

He didn't know which one to focus on. Luckily, Melissa spoke.

"Alright Theo, this might hurt if it's deep or in the bone." She didn't sound to upset about this, but she also didn't sound happy that Theo would be hurting. Some of her hate towards him must have left when she saw Theo care for his enemy.

Thinking about that moment caused Liam to focus on Theo and how much he had changed since he had be resurrected. Theo had been able to level with Liam and stop him from killing both Gabe and Nolan. He doubted that anyone else would have been as successful as Theo had been.

Not only that, but he had saved Liam's life several times now. Liam thought back to when Theo threw him in the elevator and singlehandedly took on five Ghost Riders in an attempt to keep Liam from being taken and forgotten. As soon as those doors closed, Liam had felt something in him change towards Theo. That change had only been multiplied tonight when Theo pulled him into the safety of his embrace in the very same elevator. And now, after seeing Theo care for someone other than Liam, Liam was floored. He had never expected to be able to trust Theo again, but here he was: sitting next to Theo, their legs touching, and Liam's hand reaching for Theo's.

"I'm going to need you take your shirt off," Melissa said from behind them, "I can't get to the bullet unless you want me to cut it."

Theo's hand moved and reached for the collar of his shirt. Liam couldn't help but turn his head slightly and watch as Theo slide it over his head revealing ab upon ab and muscled biceps. Liam could even see a few slight veins jutting out from them. Liam threw his hand in his lap as he had the sudden urge to trace his fingers all over the veins. More thoughts flew through his mind. None landed and held his attention as more pertinent ones came in and out.

Liam looked around the room frantically to find something to catch his interest besides a very attractive Theo but he kept coming up blank. With his hands still in his lap he clasped them together and swung his legs back and forth.

He felt Theo squirm next to him and turned to see Melissa digging in his shoulder.

"Does it hurt?" Liam asked.

"No, just uncomfortable." Theo said, but still reached for Liam's hands.

Liam let him and unlaced his own to hold Theo's. Liam watched as small black lines jumped from Theo to him.

"Liar," Liam remarked.

Theo just smirked. Liam loved that smirk.

 _Love?_

 _No._

 _Like?_

 _No?_

"It's out," Melissa interrupted their silence. "I'm going home boys. I trust you can find your own way home?"

"I have my truck," Theo looked at Liam.

Melissa nodded and left the room after placing the bullet in a tray on the counter.

They sat in silence for a minute but Theo got up before it got awkward. He let go of Liam's hand and threw his shirt back over head. He walked towards the door. When he felt Liam not following him, Theo turned around.

"You okay?" He asked.

Liam slowly looked up from his lap. Theo was still at the door but looking at him like he was ready to really listen if he wasn't. Liam didn't know if he was okay or not so he didn't say anything. He watched as Theo moved closer to. Before he could do anything, Liam said he was "fine" and jumped up. Theo turned and walked out the door. Liam grabbed the bullet Melissa had just dug out of Theo and threw it into the depths of his pocket before following him out the door. They walked in silence to the elevator. That damn elevator.

"You reek, what's the matter?" Theo asked when the doors closed and the elevator started moving down. "We won."

"I know…" Liam finally admitted and before he could stop himself, "It's just… what you did. That was incredible Theo. I couldn't even have done that!"

Liam turned to look at Theo, who for once, was looking anywhere but him.

"You've taken pain before," Theo stated, trying to take the attention away from himself, "You just took mine."

"Yeah but that's not that big of a deal. You can't take pain unless you care."

Liam realized what he said before it was too late. Theo jumped at the opportunity.

"Are you saying you care about me?"

Liam felt trapped. If he said no, he'd be lying, but God, if he said yes, what would that mean.

"I'm not talking about me right now." Liam retorted, deciding it best not to answer the question. "You took Gabe's pain. You took the guy who has been trying to kill us pain away. I didn't realize you could care for anyone."

"Of course I care," Theo said confidently and took a step toward Liam. Liam looked away, not being able to keep the hold because he didn't know what he would do if he did.

"I guess…" Theo continued hesitantly, "I saw myself in him. I mean… he was just a scared kid when it comes down to it. He was lied to and manipulated by Monroe… not dissimilar from me and the Dread Doctors… He was just doing what he thought was right. Not that what he, or I did, was right."

Liam wanted to hear more, but Theo was interrupted by the elevator doors sliding open. They walked out of the hospital. Theo lead Liam to his clearly lived in truck and started it up before he continued.

"I guess I just wanted to help him not feel the pain especially since in that moment, he knew he had been wrong. Just as I learned when I… when you…. when you brought me back. I got that second chance to feel remorse, guilt, regret…. I knew he was sorry for what he had done and would take it back if he could."

Liam had been staring at Theo's perfectly constructed profile while he was talking. Theo turned to look at him and this time Liam didn't break the eye contact. They both knew Theo had been talking about himself at the end.

"You're still living in here aren't you?" Liam asked instead of forgiving him. He couldn't forgive him but he could see past it and trust in the fact that he had changed for the better. That he was really taking his second chance seriously and ethically.

Theo averted his eyes back to the road before replying with an awkward yes.

"Come stay with me," Liam offered, "… I mean if you want to."

Theo didn't answer. Liam knew it might be weird especially since… well everything.

"You're my responsibility." Liam urged, "Say yes."

"Yes," Theo responded, "As long as you know that you are my responsibility too."

Liam blushed and hid behind his hair. He had once asked why Theo had kept saving him, acting all angry about it, but in reality, he was thankful. Theo could always pull him back and it was good to know it was reciprocal. They pulled into Liam's driveway before the conversation could really continue.

"Do you think your parents will mind?" Theo inquired.

Theo was starting to give off smells of anxiety.

"Of course not. They'll even be cool with you staying as long as you need…" Liam knew this was all true. His dad wasn't around, his step-dad worked everyday at the hospital and his mom, well his mom had always been stand-offish and slightly scared of Liam and his intermittent explosive disorder. If she had ever found out about Liam being a werewolf, she would never talk to him again. Not that that would be much of a difference.

"Um… but they don't know about me."

"What do you mean?" Theo asked, confused. Liam realized this could mean a few different things.

"Like, the werewolf thing."

Theo bursted into laughter but caught his breath when he realized Liam wasn't joking.

"What? How could you not have told them?" Theo asked. Before Liam could answer he continued, "How can they not know when the whole town knows?"

That was a very good question that Liam couldn't think of an answer to besides that his parents were beyond oblivious. He just shrugged and jumped out of the truck. Theo followed him up the driveway.

"I mean, how many times has that hospital been attacked while your dad has been in it? And how many times have you been there to save it? Twice with me."

"Can you stop finding this so funny?" Liam asked, starting to get embarrassed.

"Hey, wasn't that where Scott bit you?" Theo said through a laugh.

Liam couldn't help himself. He turned towards Theo and threw his fist at his face. It felt good. Theo stumbled back a little and the feeling of "good" was replaced with regret.

"What the hell Liam!" Theo said grasping his bleeding nose. "You broke it! Again!"

Liam heard a crack and knew that Theo had put it back in place to start the healing process.

"You'll be fine," Liam said opening the front door. "All the lights are off so they are definitely asleep. Be quite."

Liam lead them easily through the dark but familiar house. The lights in his room illuminated blue walls, a carpeted floor with clothes strewn around on it, a dresser with clothes piling out of it, food on his desk between the notebooks, a tv left on the home page of the last video game he had played, and a full-sized bed.

"Why is the bed made when the rest of the room looks like this?" Theo asked, stepping around Liam and into the middle of the room. Liam walked in and looked around taking in the mess.

"My mom makes it," He was going to lie but he wasn't very good at controlling his heart rate. Theo laughed and Liam started to feel embarrassed again.

"Do you mind if I shower?" Theo asked, "To get the blood off."

Liam brought Theo to the bathroom off his room which use to be a walk-in closet. With two people in it, there was barely any room to move around while having personal space. He turned the water on with his back turned to Theo. When he turned around, he smacked into Theo's bare chest. With Theo being the taller one of the two, Liam had to look up slightly to see his face. Theo was looking down at him. He had that dumb, beautiful smirk dancing on his lips. For half a second, Liam thought of what it would be like if he stayed. Still looking into Theo's eyes, he wondered if he was thinking the same thing.

"Um," fell from Liam's lips. He backed away.

There was a small linen cabinet which Liam made his only priority. He grabbed a towel for Theo, thrusted it at him, and darted out of there, closing the door behind him. He started picking up the clothes on the ground and throwing them in his hamper. Making sure Theo was actually in the shower, he honed in on his hearing. Theo was definitely showering and Liam was definitely not going to think about it. He wasn't thinking about Theo….wet… naked.

"What the fuck!" Liam said under his breath. "What. The. Fuck."

Liam wound up and punched the wall by his desk. He had to yank his hand out of it. There was a sizable hole. His mom was going to _kill_ him. And, his hand was bleeding.

"Fuck."

He shook his hand out and started throwing the food on his desk out. Liam stacked his notebooks and organized his pens. He shoved his clothes back into the drawers but it wouldn't shut. Frustration was setting in hard, he slammed his already bloody hand in it.

"Fuck!"

Liam held his hand in his arm, not looking, just cradling. He heard the water shut off and the door open. Theo walked out in a towel hanging low around his waist. A thin line of light brown hair trailed from his navel to under the dark blue cloth.

"Are you okay?" Theo asked, walking quickly over to him.

"I'm fine," Liam groaned. He clearly wasn't fine but he couldn't tell Theo that. Theo was the cause of this.

"You're not fine!" Theo said coming closer. "Come here, let me see."

Liam felt a tug on his arm and let Theo pull him towards him. He held his hand out but couldn't look at it; Theo's dripping body was just inches from him and those thoughts were coming back. Liam tried to look away, at his hand, but his hand looked so mutilated that it made Liam feel stupid.

Theo took his hand in his as carefully as he could but Liam still winced.

"This is definitely broken."

"I know," Liam groaned, "Do you mind taking the pain away?"

He hated asking but it hurt so bad.

"I'm trying Liam," Theo said.

Theo was concentrating on Liam's hand. He really was, but nothing was happening.

"Why isn't it working?" Theo asked frustratedly.

"Don't think about healing it," Liam said reassuringly, "…just think about me."

Liam kept his eyes on Theo's but Theo kept his on Liam's hand. He could tell he was trying to focus on Liam instead of the hand. To focus on how he cared for Liam; but nothing was happening. The little black lines weren't moving from him to Theo. All of a sudden, Liam remembered Hayden and the first time he took pain away.

"Don't freak out," Liam heard himself say. Theo looked at his eyes for the first time since seeing his mangled hand.

Liam placed his good hand on Theo's waist, his skin wet to the touch. Liam thought back to Theo saving him earlier that night when he was sure he was going to get hit with a cascade of bullets. In that moment he had known he was going to die. And then, Theo had thrown himself into danger to pull Liam into the safety of his embrace.

Theo pulled him closer to his chest. Liam leaned up and carefully placed his lips on Theo's. It was tender and soft. Liam immediately felt the pain ease from his hand, he didn't have to look to see the black lines moving from one to the other, he knew they were. Theo licked Liam's lips and slipped his tongue into his mouth. It massaged his own and traced the inside of his mouth. Liam pulled away slightly, breathless. Theo held on with his teeth for a split second and let go with a smirk. Liam gasped.

 _Wow_

 _Wait…._

 _What just happened?_

 _O. My. God._

 _O. My. God._

 _O. My. God._

They were still standing there, holding each other and Liam had no clue what to make of the situation. He pulled away and moved his hair subconsciously in front of his eyes.

 _What the fuck do I say now?_

 _Shit._

 _Wow._

Liam hadn't noticed he was pacing until Theo interrupted him.

"Okay, I'm going to finish up and then go crash on the couch downstairs," He said and closed the bathroom door behind him. Liam heard the water turn back on but didn't hear Theo step into it. He was probably trying to make sense of all this.

Liam pulled his shirt over his head and tossed it at the hamper. It missed. He didn't bother picking it up. He picked out his favorite pair of sweatpants and threw them on. His injured hand got caught and he winced. The pain had left but it was still broken in a few places.

He shut the lights off and climbed into bed and thought of Theo. What he did tonight was not just amazing but monumental. He finally showed that he had changed from the diabolical Theo he once was into someone Liam could trust and feel safe with.

He had taken Liam's own pain through a kiss. One that Liam had initiated.

 _What does that even mean?_

 _I can't be gay…._

 _Can I?_

 _What about Hayden?_

 _What about Hayden?_

Liam heard the shower turn off and a minute later out came a dry Theo in nothing but his boxers. He made his way to the door.

"Good night Li-"

Before he could finish, Liam interrupted, "Wait."

He had shot up in bed and was now staring at Theo's outline but couldn't say anything. He didn't know what to say.

"What?" Theo asked, not exactly irritable, but maybe slightly annoyed with Liam's sporadic behavior.

"Don't sleep on the couch," Liam requested. He flipped the sheets open next to him, indicating for Theo to climb in. Theo let go of the doorknob and sauntered over. Slowly, he lay down next to Liam, being careful not to touch him. Liam rolled over to face him; Theo copied his movement. His face, even in the darkness, seemed to be chiseled from stone by some god. His jaw line was impeccable and Liam couldn't help but stare.

"So how was your day?" Theo asked after Liam didn't say anything.

"It was fine," Liam said moving an inch closer. "Same old, same old."

"Nothing really stands out as," Theo slide closer, "sensational?"

The space between them was intoxicating and vanishing quickly. Liam's healing hand had been between them balled up but now it was leaning against Theo's chest. Theo's eyes darted slightly down at Liam's lips and then back up to his eyes— just like they had earlier in the elevator. Liam hadn't known what to do then, but something in his body told him what he should do now. He danced his fingers up to Theo's chin. The stubble tickled Liam's hand and he smiled. Lightly pulling, Liam brought Theo into him. Theo's pink lips tenderly brushed into his own. Running his fingers through Theo's hair, Liam pulled him deep into himself.

Growing ravenous, Theo grabbed ahold of Liam and lunged on top of him. Liam let his hands roam over Theo's muscular back. Theo's tongue found it's way into Liam's mouth but this time, Liam was ready. He circled his tongue around Theo's minty one. He must have used Liam's toothpaste in the bathroom after taking his pain away. He never had thought, in a million years, that Theo would have been able to care enough to take his own pain away let alone an enemy. Not long ago, Liam had thought of Theo as the enemy but now…. now Liam didn't know what to think.

His confusion subsided the moment Theo's lips left his own and found a new home on his neck. He started slowly, with just light kisses at first. Liam let his fingers slip under the band of Theo's boxers. Just like everything else about him, Theo's ass was toned. The kisses on his neck were now vigorous and Liam couldn't help but squeeze what he was holding. Theo began to work his body in a rippling manner against Liam's. Each stroke against him was full of desire.

Theo's body undulating against Liam's, in combination with the sucking on his neck, awoke every nerve in Liam's body. Every part of him craved every part of Theo and he was starting to be more than just okay with it. He had no idea what was happening to him… but was this him enjoying it? A moan escaped his lips as he felt himself grow hard.

"Fuck," Liam moaned under his breath. He felt Theo smile into his neck.

"What the fuck!" Liam exclaimed. He suddenly pushed Theo off of him, using his werewolf strength, Theo flew off the bed.

"What the hell Dunbar!" Theo countered standing up. "What happened?"

"Exactly, what the hell just happened? What were you doing?"

"What was I doing?" Theo asked back, "You were the one that kissed me first! Both times!"

Liam was going to retort, but Theo was right, Liam had been the one to initiate it. Liam rolled over so his back was to Theo.

"I don't want to talk about it."

"Baby," Theo gawked while climbing back into bed.

Theo laid down and went to curl up behind Liam but as soon as Liam felt Theo on him he shimmied away. Liam heard Theo roll over and face the other way. Soon he heard light snoring. Every time Liam went to close his eyes, images of a shirtless Theo straddling him would surface. Eventually, Liam drifted into an uneasy sleep.


	3. Chapter 3

Light from the rising sun freckled Theo's face, coaxing him to wake up. There was a light pressure on his chest. Theo looked down to see Liam curled up into him. Theo couldn't help but let a huge smile stretch across his lips. The way things had ended last night made Theo nervous of what was going to happen when Liam woke up. He contemplated moving him, but Theo liked the feeling of him snuggled up into him. He felt protected and warm— something that was very new to him. In fact, he couldn't remember the last time he had slept so well.

 _Wait a second…._

All of a sudden, Theo realized that this was the first time since he came back from Hell where he hadn't dreamt of Tara. Theo couldn't help but link his lack of nightmare and good sleep to being with Liam. He wouldn't mind waking up next to Liam everyday.

Theo couldn't help but watch as Liam slept. He looked so peaceful and not angry. It was nice to see how safe he look cuddled up into himself. It took an additional hour an a half for Liam to wake himself up. By this point, Theo was grateful as his need to use the bathroom was at an all-time high. At first, he wiggled against Theo and then he began to open his eyes. When he realized he was laying on Theo's chest, Liam jumped out of bed. Theo couldn't help but chuckle.

"What's so funny?" Liam demanded.

"Good morning to you too," Theo responded.

Liam glared at him.

 _How does one look so cute this early in the morning?_

"What?" Theo asked.

"Nothing," Liam said, nervously running his hand through his growing hair. He began pacing again.

"Look um…" but Theo interrupted him.

"Don't worry about it. Nothing happened. It won't happen again." Theo heard himself say. The look on Liam's face was one of slight devastation.

"Okay… okay." Liam settled on. He checked his phone, "Shit."

"What?" Theo asked, still leaning against the headboard in bed.

"I have like a million texts from the pack wondering where I am. Shit is that the time?"

Theo's phone had died and he hadn't charged it overnight and without a watch it was hard to tell the time.

"If thats what it say, then I'm gonna go with yes."

"Shut up and get dressed. We were supposed to be at the animal clinic an hour ago!"

Theo hadn't brought a change of clothing into the house so he put back on the clothing he was wearing last night. When Liam saw him wearing the bloody shirt he dug through his dresser to find one big enough for him. He tossed a Beacon Hill lacrosse hoodie at him and Theo put it on. The sweet smell of Liam's aroma engrossed him making Theo feel warm.

The ride to the animal clinic was accompanied by silence between them. Theo settled with noise from the radio. They weren't playing anything he recognized, but he didn't bother changing the station. Theo couldn't help but wonder what Liam was thinking. He had thought last night was nice…. more than nice. It had felt right. Every moment with Liam always felt right. He never knew what was going to happen when he was around Liam, all he knew was that everything would be okay. Theo never felt that before. He had never been as intimate with some physically and mentally. Yeah, he had kissed Tracy, but then he had killed her. He had never actually felt anything for her, but he had wanted her trust and that was how he got it.

With Liam, he had to work for his trust. He finally felt like he had it last night, but that wasn't why he had taken Gabe's pain. It was just a very nice byproduct. From the moment Liam had brought him back, Theo had felt something strong. At first, it was guilt. There was always going to be guilt. However, it had grown. He felt tied to Liam somehow and Theo had no problem with that.

They pulled into the animal clinic and parked next to Stile's jeep. They walked in silence into the clinic, Theo let Liam lead and made sure not to follow too closely. Everyone was in the back— Theo could hear them all talking over each other. Liam came into the pack's sight first.

"Oh, look who finally decided to show up," Theo heard Stiles say.

Theo walked in and everyone grew quite.

"What the hell is this guy doing here?" Stiles was the one to break the silence.

"No seriously," He continued, "What the hell is Theo doing here?"

"It's a pack meeting," Liam said quietly.

"Exactly, Theo isn't pack." Stiles argued.

Theo was growing very uncomfortable. No one was talking besides Stiles and what he was saying wasn't what Theo wanted to hear. He shoved his hands into the sweatshirt pocket. It still had Liam's scent. Focusing on that, Theo tried to steady his breathing. Stiles could say anything he wanted, but Theo knew he wasn't the one in charge.

"Scott?" Theo asked, looking past Stiles. Scott didn't respond.

"Scott," Liam echoed for Theo.

Scott took a minute to articulate what he wanted to say. In that minute, Theo's heart was in his ears. Blood was zooming everywhere and he was suddenly overly aware of how out of place he really was. All he wanted was for Liam to look at him, to reassure him that everything was going to be okay, but Liam didn't turn around.

"Are you seriously considering this?" Stiles asked irritably, "Need I remind you of all the innocent people he has killed. Scott, that list includes you!"

"Liam," Scott finally said, "if my pack doesn't trust him, I can't trust him either."

Theo was almost certain that Scott was about to suggest to put it to a vote and Theo was not about to wait around and find out.

"I trust him," Liam offered.

"It's okay Liam," Theo said and turned to leave.

"Wait-" Uttered Liam.

Theo pivoted back to him, to the rest of the pack. All eyes were on him.

"What?" Theo urged when Liam didn't say anything.

He watched as Liam's mouth opened and closed a few times in an attempt to say something… anything. Theo couldn't wait for him to get the courage to say whatever the hell he was going to say. The attention from everyone was overwhelming. He nodded at Liam and walked out of the clinic.

Theo got into his truck and waited a minute to start it, hoping Liam would come running out. When he didn't come, Theo thrusted his fists into the steering wheel in frustration and threw the key into the ignition— having to hold himself back from breaking it with shear strength. Whipping out of the parking lot, he blasted the radio. A sign indicated that if he took a left he would start to head south. Not knowing what to do or where to go, he took the left.

"Fuuuck!" Theo finally let out. "Fuck. Fuck. Fuck!"

 _What the hell am I going to do?_

 _What the hell Liam?_

 _What the hell?!_

None of these answers came to him as he drove through town after town. When the gas light lit up, he was just southwest of San Juan. Stopping to refuel, and using the last twenty he had for it, he realized this wasn't far enough. With a full tank he got back on route 5 and continued South. He stopped once more to use the bathroom but kept going until he hit San Diego. Two things stopped him: lack of money and the boarder. He supposed the United States boarder wouldn't have stopped him if he had a passport, but he didn't. He found a place to park for the night.

He had just driven for about twelve hours and should be exhausted but his brain wouldn't shut off. It kept going back to last night and how amazing it had felt. Every moment with Liam since he had been back had been perfect. They may have been fighting for their lives or just fighting with each other, but it was the best part about being back. Last night something had happened and it felt as if it was meant to happen.

Theo had been devastated when Liam hadn't stood up for him at the clinic. Well, he had sort of tried, but not hard enough. It made clear that Liam didn't feel the same way.

 _I mean, how could he?_

 _You killed his Alpha._

 _You fucking idiot!_

He threw Liam's hood over his head and snuggled into the warmth it provided. It wasn't as good as last night, but maybe even just the smell of him could bring a little bit of comfort. He climbed in the back of his truck and curled up. Closing his eyes, and thinking about being back on top of Liam, Theo drifted off into an uneasy sleep. He dreamt of his dead sister.

"Sir," Theo heard a man say from a far off distance, "Sir, you can't sleep here."

Theo opened his eye to a cop knocking on his window.

"Okay," Theo yawned, shaking the nightmare away, "I'm leaving."

Theo turned his truck on and saw he still had almost a quarter of gas. He drove around, not sure where to but still occasionally taking lefts mixed with a few rights until he found himself turning into the San Diego Zoo's parking lot. Theo was surprised when he parked and got out of his car with the intention of going in.

"One adult please," Theo said to the aged tired woman at the ticket window.

"$58.00," She said in monotone.

"Oh, um…" Theo had a few crumpled bills in his pocket and pulled them out, "I have… $4."

He laughed at himself and walked away from the window.

 _Why do I want to get in so badly?_

 _Maybe I should just sneak in…_

Seeing as he had no where to go and nothing to do, Theo walked around the permitter looking for a place to break in through. He saw a couple of doors, even tried them, but they all required and access card or code to get through.

 _The fence isn't even that tall…._

Theo checked to make sure no one was watching him and paced a few steps backwards before launching himself up and over the wall. He landed on the backside of a roof. Looking around, he could see that he was probably on top of the bathroom or something. With a quick sniff, he confirmed that he was most definitely on a bathroom. He jumped down, landing on his feet.

Up ahead he could see a large crowd surrounding an enclosure. Theo walked to them, curious as to what they were all so entranced with. He pushed his way forward until he was stopped by the glass. Below him, Theo saw a polar bear chilling by water. There was only one.

 _Hey dude._

 _I bet it can get pretty lonely down there sometimes…_

The polar bear turned around to face them, looked right at Theo, and then turned back around again.

 _Wait… did you just look at me?_

 _Wait, look back!_

Theo waited a moment, waiting to see if the polar bear turned around again. When it didn't, Theo backed away, allowing two little boys to run into his spot. The crowd was more willing to let him out than they were to let him in. He walked until he found a directory. When he say that there weren't any wolves, he felt his heart drop.

Why he had been hoping to see the wolves hadn't been obvious to him at the moment but he eventually realized that he was now an omega. He had no one. Theo walked around the park aimlessly not really taking in the animals. The thought that he was alone just kept running through his mind like a broken record.

 _What do you expect to do?_

Theo bent down to pick up some trash that hadn't made it to the trash can. He saw more and picked that up too. He was soon walking around the park picking up all the trash on the ground that he could and throwing it out. Theo hadn't even realized he was doing it until someone shouted at him.

"Hey kid," Theo whipped his head around to see if that was directed at him, "Want a job doing that?"

Theo spotted where the voice came from: a grounds keeper pushing a dumpster.

"Sure!" Theo surprised himself by saying.

"Really?" He asked, just as surprised.

"Yeah," Theo was now sure that he was going to stay here for awhile.

"Well, we are looking for people. Follow me," Theo did just that.

He walked beside the man. He was on the older side and most likely would tell Theo just how long he had been a proud member of the staff within the first few words. He wasn't wrong.

"I'm Jeff, been here last fifteen years, 'fore this I was at the college." Jeff laughed, "People always quittn' here 'cause the stink and mess but I keep telling them 'bout how much better this is than cleann' up after those college students."

Theo laughed. He could imagine how terrible being a janitor at a college would be, but he imagined that cleaning up elephant shit was probably worse. Jeff led Theo through a staff only door by swiping the card on his hip and then through a few more doors until they stopped at one and Jeff knocked.

"Yeah," Theo heard a voice from the other side mutter and Jeff lead them in.

A man in business clothes looked up from the desk with a look of confusion on his face.

"Saw this kid picking up trash all over from Northern Frontier to African Rocks," Jeff stated a matter-a-factly, "Says he wants a job."

"Jeff mentioned that you were hiring." Theo interrupted before Jeff could say anything else for him.

"Really?" The man asked.

"Yeah," Theo responded more excitedly than before.

"Do you have experience?"

"No," Theo said, "but I'm a fast learner and I can work every day. I'd even start now."

"Okay, well I can let you follow Jeff around and to get the hang of it. I'm going to need some of your information so we can do a background check just to make sure you are safe to be around children. This is a family place after all."

"Thank..?" Theo asked.

"Martin Goode."

"Theo Raken."

Theo outstretched his hand and Martin shook it back.


	4. Chapter 4

Mason ended up dropping a silent Liam off at his house after the pack meeting. Liam was sitting in the back seat as Corey had been sitting shotgun, cradling Mason's hand in his lap. No one mentioned Theo after he left, they just continued talking about the plan. Each deciding it be best to defer a year: Scott, Lydia, Stiles, and Malia were going to go after Monroe with Argent to track her and stop recruitment. Liam, Mason, and Corey, still being in school, were to stay in Beacon Hills protecting those who still needed their help. That was all good and well, but what about Theo.

 _I should have told them how he took Gabe's pain away._

 _I should have told them how much he has changed._

 _I should have run after him._

 _I should have told him to stay._

"See you at school," Mason said as Liam climbed out of his car.

Liam nodded at him and trudged up his driveway. He wasn't sure what was going to happen now that Theo was gone. Theo had been the only one to be able to calm Liam down after Hayden had left.

 _"_ Holy shit!" Liam exclaimed at this thought.

In that moment, his hand on his front door, Liam realized that Theo had become his anchor. He thought back to the time in the boys locker room when he almost killed Gabe but Theo had stopped him. He really could pull Liam back even if it was in a different way than Hayden had. It may be different, but it was more effective— more mature? Mature didn't feel right. It was more in a protective and understanding type of way. Liam ran up the stairs at this thought and threw himself onto the side of the bed Theo had slept on last night.

 _Last night…._

Last night had been different. Not a weird different… a good different. Liam hadn't been able to handle it though. He wish he had. He had liked every moment of it but why? Liam remembered that moment: him on his back, Theo on top of him. The thought of Theo's body undulating against his own caused his penis to throb in his pants. He rolled over, closing his eyes, imagining a wet Theo taking his pain away with a kiss.

 _Okay so I'm attracted to Theo._

 _Is Theo attracted to me?_

Liam had been the one to initiate both kisses. Liam had been the one to ask him to sleep with him. Liam had been the one to curl up into Theo in the middle of the night. And it was Liam who hadn't gone chasing after Theo asking him to stay in Beacon Hills.

 _He could be anywhere by now._

"Fuck!" Liam roared.

The next day wasn't great. At school, students were still wary around him, less fearful, but more awkward. Everyone knew what he was capable of, that he was different from them. Some were hesitant to sit next to him, other's didn't care, but no one talked to him besides Corey and Mason. He spent the whole day telling himself how badly he had messed up by letting Theo go.

The following day was worse. At lacrosse practice he had been knocked down so hard his fangs and claws came out. No one saw, but he had to run off the field into the locker room, only calming down in the shower when his mind wondered to Theo.

The rest of the week followed in about the same pattern. Someone or something would aggravate him to the point of wolfing-out and he wouldn't be able to de-claw until he let himself think of Theo.

The lacrosse game Friday also happen to be a full-moon. Liam had been so out of it all week that he didn't realize they were playing Devenford until he stepped on the field and found himself face-to-face with one of his old teammates.

"Ready to eat shit Dumb-bar?" the guy asked.

Liam let a light growl escape his lips. The whistle blew and he was knocked to the ground.

"What the hell?" Liam shouted.

The boy offered his hand. Instead of taking it, Liam hit it away. The ref blew the whistle again and this time, Liam jumped and won the face-off. Every hit Liam received that game seemed intentional with it's power and the look of pride and fulfillment in the opponent's eyes. By the second quarter he was fed up and his heart wouldn't rest. Each play showed more and more aggression. Second half saw push back. Every time Liam had the ball, the other team would descend like vultures ending in piles of players on top of him.

The game was tied with three minutes left when Liam was thrown to the ground as he threw the ball into the net around the keeper. There was an uproar from the stands as Liam slammed into the earth. The defender was on top of him grabbing at his helmet. Whistles ensued but the lacrosse player wouldn't stop. He was slamming Liam's head into the ground. Liam felt his fangs elongate and his claws poke into his gloves.

 _The sun. The moon. The truth._

Nothing happened.

 _The sun! The moon! The truth!_

Still nothing.

 _THE SUN! THE MOON! THE TRUTH!_

His claws were now poking through his gloves and his fanged mouth was producing growls. The kid was still pummeling him into the field. Nolan rushed over, trying to yank the kid off of Liam. The ref was on his way blowing his whistle viciously.

"Red card! Give the kid a red card!" Liam heard Coach shouting from the sidelines.

"The sun, the moon, the truth," Liam uttered under his breath. He said it again, and again as the guy was pulled off and Liam began to stand. He could feel his eyes glowing so he kept them shut. Corey was at his side and he pulled his helmet to meet his own.

"You've got to get this under control," he urged, "just breath."

"I. Am." Liam said through closed teeth.

"Not well," Corey could tell he wasn't getting anywhere, "find your anchor."

Liam's mind cleared and Theo came rushing towards him as if from down a long tunnel. All of a sudden, Liam was in the hospital elevator with him. Theo was pressing him against the wall, breathing down his neck. He could feel his heart beat against his chest. Liam felt his claws retract and then his fangs. He opened his eyes and Corey nodded.

"What the hell was that for?" Nolan was asking the attacker.

"Brett," was all he said.

Liam resisted the urge to punch the kid.

Corey turned to the guy, "You don't know what you're talking about."

"I think you're the one who doesn't know," the kid retorted.

The whistle blew in Liam's ear.

"That's enough," the ref demanded. "One point to cyclones. Face-off."

They all jogged to centerfield. Liam knew that if he stopped thinking of Theo laying in bed with him, he would be risking letting the mention of Brett get to him. He face-offed against the kid that had been attacking him. Every muscle in his body told him to jump the guy and rip his face to shreds.

The whistle blew, he won the face-off. They were able to get one more point, letting them win comfortably by two. Liam congratulated his team but was the first out of the locker room. He had a call to make and he wasn't about to do it surrounded by his teammates. Liam didn't even touch his phone until he was showered, laying in bed.

His thumb hovered over Theo's number, but only for a second. It rang once and went to voicemail. After hearing Theo's recording Liam stumbled through his message.

"Hey… It's me… Liam… Liam Dunbar… You knew that…."

Liam hit himself in the head for sounding so apprehensive. He took a deep breath before continuing.

"I had a lacrosse game tonight. We won. I actually scored two of the goals. Anyways, that's not the point. We played Devenford and everyone was ganging up on me, knocking me to the ground. It got so bad that one guy was pummeling me into the field and I wolfed-out. He didn't notice, but I couldn't get it under control. My mantra didn't work. Nothing worked until Corey told me to find my anchor… and I thought of you. You Theo. You stupid fuckn idiot. You left and now I'm worse than ever before. I can feel it. I've been wolfing-out all week. The full moon was tonight and every nerve in me yelled at me to rip his throat out. But you were there and I was safe. Come back. I should have told everyone why I trust you. I should have told Scott why you deserve to be in the pack, but I didn't. Scott and everyone are gone off trying to find Monroe. You can move in and we can figure this out. We have to give this a shot. Please. Anyways, call me back. Theo I… goodnight."

Liam slammed his finger into the end button. He couldn't believe he had been so honest— so vulnerable. He threw his fist into his headboard and snuggled up into the spot where Theo had been. Liam always had slept on the other side of the bed, but all week he had been sleeping on this side. If Liam could focus hard enough on his smell, he could catch Theo's scent in the pillow.


	5. Chapter 5

By the end of the first day, Jeff had taken such a peculiar liking to Theo that upon hearing about how he didn't have a place to stay, he offered his own apartment. It was small with a kitchen, bathroom, bedroom, and an extra room that Jeff had turned into his work space. Theo slept on the couch.

They talked about making it a permanent situation by turning the work space into Theo's room. He liked the idea so much, he decided to sell his phone. When he left Beacon Hill's it had been dead. He hadn't bothered charging it since. He debated turning it on and seeing if anyone… if Liam had contacted him. Theo settled with, if Liam had wanted him to stay, he would have said it then. He went to the pawn shop down the street and traded the phone in for $50 and gave the money to Jeff. When he asked what it was for, Theo explained that he was very much interested in staying with Jeff for awhile and this was money for a bed.

With his first pay check, Theo was able to meet Jeff half way and they purchased a bed for Theo on their way home from work. Soon, Theo was paying a portion of the rent and buying groceries. He splurged on a waffle maker after a conversation with Jeff about how he loved waffles more than pancakes. They even started keeping a jar of loose money for a foosball table.

Theo was starting to develop a work ethic but he was missing running around with Liam all day. He wondered if Liam missed doing the same but realized that Liam was not interested in anything Theo did. If he had cared, he would have shown it. He was just a confused guy who sought comfort in someone more messed up than him.

"Let's get a drink," Jeff suggested at the end of work one Friday.

"I'm only nineteen Jeff,"

"You'll be fine, you look old enough with your beard."

Theo flipped the mirror down as they drove to a dive-bar. He looked more aged than he realized. Since leaving Beacon Hills, he hadn't shaved once. Mainly because of his lack of ownership of a razor but also subconsciously because Jeff had a beard.

He had dark circles under his eyes. His bed was nice and comfortable but that didn't mean that the nightmares went away. Every single night he had the same reoccurring dream of his sister. The only night being back from Hell that he hadn't had the dream was the night he had spent with Liam. Every bone in his body told him not to think about Liam all the time, but his brain rarely listened.

It was easier around Jeff. Jeff being so nice to Theo made Theo want to be better. He made sure they were on time to work everyday and that Theo had a roof over his head. If he knew about the nightmares, Theo was sure he would try and help in some way. However, there was no way Theo would ever open up that much to him.

They pulled into the bar's parking lot. There were older men out front with grey beards longer than any he had scene before in real life. Each had a cigarette hanging from the lips or between their fingers. Jeff jumped out of the car and bellowed "hello"s at them. In unison, they greeted him. Theo chuckled, not surprised that Jeff knew them.

"Come on out," Jeff yelled to Theo.

Theo had learned in the month he had been with him, that listening to what Jeff told him to do was usually beneficial. He jumped out of the truck and introduced himself to the men, all giving him a once-over. Jeff told the men he'd see them inside and led Theo up the walk.

When they walked in, Theo saw two pool tables, darts on the far wall, a jukebox, and then the bar. He followed Jeff to the bar where Jeff raised his finger and the bartender was over in a second.

"Hey Jeff," the bartender said jerking his thumb at Theo, "who is this?"

"This," Jeff responded, grabbing Theo's shoulders and shaking him, "is the newest member of the San Diego Zoo park maintenance team. Get him anythin' he wants, put it on my tab. Theo, Olly. Olly, Theo. I'll take a Stella."

"What can I get for ya?"

"I'll have the same thing," Theo knew he couldn't get drunk but he wasn't about to turn down a free drink. "Thanks."

Olly cracked open their bottles and slide them across the counter. Jeff took a big swig and threw Olly a wink.

"Come on," Jeff said, grabbing Theo's arm. He pulled him to the open pool table.

"Oh, I don't know how to play," Theo said apprehensively.

"It's not that hard, you'll get the hang of it."

It took Theo two games to get the hang of it. Towards the end of the second game, Theo was in the lead. He only had one more stripe to get in and then the 8 ball. Jeff was behind two balls. Theo took his time with his shots. He liked the game. It took concentration and anything he had to concentrate on distracted him from his constant thoughts of Liam. At some point during their third game, a group of zoo employees walked in and headed straight for the bar. Theo didn't give them any thought.

"Theo," Jeff whispered, "One of them girls over there won't stop starn' at you."

"What?" Theo asked, looking up from the cue ball.

He followed Jeff's eyes with his own to a considerably pretty girl staring right back at him. Theo took her in but didn't feel even the slightest amount of attraction towards her. He directed his attention back to the cue ball.

"What?" Jeff asked, "Not your type?"

"Just… my heart's somewhere else," Theo found himself admitting.

He hit the cue ball, knocking two of his balls into separate holes. He smirked. Jeff hadn't pried and Theo was thankful. They finished their beers at the same time and each got a fourth.


	6. Chapter 6

It had been a month since Theo had left and Liam had done everything he could imagine to try and find him. He had bugged Sheriff until he finally gave in a few days ago just to shut him up and looked to see if he could find Theo's truck. He had only gotten one hit in San Diego with Theo sleeping in his car the day after he had left town. There was nothing else about Theo anywhere to be found.

Every day, his anger would boil up inside and he would let himself think of waking up cuddled into Theo's protective embrace and he would gain control. Liam called his phone every night, each time getting voice mail. He kept calling until someone eventually picked up.

"Hello?" A woman on the line asked.

"Hi, this is Liam, is Theo there?" Liam asked.

"I think you have the wrong number sir."

"No," Liam said, "this is definitely the right number. I'm looking for Theo Raeken."

"Sir, this is my phone. I bought it at a pawn shop. Theo must have been the old owner. I'm sorry, have a nice—"

"Wait," Liam cut her off before she could hang up, "Where and when did you buy the phone?"

There was a pause.

"Please," Liam begged, "I'm just looking for my…."

But Liam didn't know what to call Theo.

"Theo?" She answered for him.

"Yeah," He could hear the defeat in his voice.

"Palace Pawn in the Gaslamp district of San Diego. I picked it up this week."

Liam felt a rush of relief run through him. If she had picked up this week, there was a possibility that he was still there.

"I hope you find him," the woman said.

"Thank you!"

Liam had been in bed when he had called. It had become his ritual. He would call before falling asleep every night. He had been tired before, but now he was wide awake. He had to go find Theo. His mom would never let him borrow her car to go all the way to San Diego and his step dad was at the hospital working a graveyard shift. He dialed Mason's number. It rang a few times before a breathless Mason answered.

"What's up?"

"I think I found Theo!"

"What?"

Liam hadn't told Mason about his searches. He knew that Mason would have helped if he had known, he probably would have been able to figure out where Theo was a few weeks ago, but Liam hadn't wanted to explain. He didn't think anyone would understand— not even Mason. Liam didn't answer the question.

"Have you been looking for Theo?"

"Yes," Liam almost sounded guilty.

"How long?"

"Everyday."

There was a pause. Liam could hear another voice— Corey's.

"I'm sorry to interrupt, but can I borrow your car?"

"How about I drive in the morning, as long as we are back by dinner, Corey and I have a date."

Liam heard giggling from Corey.

"He's in San Diego."

"Shit," Mason said. There was another pause.

"The lacrosse tournament Coach wants us to go to is in San Diego," Corey had taken the phone from Mason.

"You're right!"

Liam had been out of it ever since Theo had left. He had been captain, but Nolan had been carrying all of the weight. The tournament was going to have a whole bunch of college reps there, but they had to fund a place to stay and that required fundraising that barely anyone had done.

"When is that?" Liam asked.

"Not this weekend, but next." Corey responded.

"Okay," Liam said, "I'll see you guys at school tomorrow."

Liam hung up and paced around his room.

 _How am I going to raise money to get the whole lacrosse team to to go San Diego?_

 _How much would that even cost?_

Liam found himself leaving his room and creeping down the stairs into his step dad's office. He walked behind his desk and sat down. Opening drawers as silently as he could, looking for his checkbook. He succeeded with his third try. He ripped out a check and stuffed it into his pockets.

The next day after practice, Liam asked Coach how much money they had left to raise.

"Well, considering that only one captain has been encouraging the team, we still need… $1,500," Coach said looking at the papers spread about his desk.

Liam took the check out of his pocket. He filled it out and signed his father's name.

"Here," Liam said thrusting it at him.

"Are you going to get into trouble for this?" Coach asked, but took the check anyways.

"If I am, it's not your fault." Liam said. Coach seemed satisfied with his response.

Coach pulled Liam out of his office and called everyone to gather around him.

"Thanks to Dunbar, you losers are going to San Diego next weekend." There were cheers, "Clear your schedules, I don't want anyone missing. That includes you, Greenberg. I can't believe you didn't graduate."

It was settled. They were going to San Diego and Liam was going to find Theo no matter what it cost him. He didn't care if his dad would be pissed about donating the money. He didn't care if he had to miss a game and the opportunity to be seen by recruiters. He needed to find Theo and bring him home.

Each day that wasn't the day they were leaving made Liam groan with anxiety. The passing days blurred together into one big ole' mess with more and more irritability. He start to carry the bullet Theo had taken for him on their last night together. When he felt himself losing control he would hold it and run the cool metal through his calloused fingers.

Liam couldn't seep the night before they left. The prospect of finally seeing Theo again ran through every nerve in his body. He lay awake on Theo's side replaying every memory they shared together… after his return. He remembered the elevators they shared, Theo being impressed when he went on and on about history, and Theo's body.

The sun light his face up and he raced out of bed. He threw things into a bag and heard Mason honk in the driveway. Liam jumped the stairs to the bottom and stumbled out the door. Today was the day, he could feel it. As always, Corey was sitting passenger so Liam climbed in the back. Mason decided he would come alone and pay his own way to be with Corey. They sat together on the bus, leaving Liam to sit alone. That was the thing. Ever since Theo left, he was always alone. The pack had left and it was just Mason, Corey, and Liam. Nolan was there, but their relationship, though friendly was still forming.

In these moments of solitude, which Liam found himself in more times than not, he couldn't help but know that he would rather be with Theo. And, even when he was with others, he still thought this. It wasn't like Theo was the only thing he ever thought about… but he pretty much was the only thing he ever thought about.

At some point, Liam knocked out and didn't wake up until they parked in San Diego. Coach had them all check into their room and then told them that the bus was leaving for the first day of the tournament at 7:30 the next morning and they were to be ready by then or they would be left. To Liam, this meant that he had twelve hours to track Theo down.

 _If he is even in this city…._

Liam was about to say bye to Corey and Mason but they ran off to Mason's rented room before Liam could make a sound. Liam wasn't sure where to go so he started to walk. Unbeknownst to him, he walked the same blocks Theo had drove his first day in San Diego. It took him longer, obviously, but by midnight he found himself standing in the San Diego Zoo parking lot, somehow picking up Theo's scent. Little did he know, he was standing in Jeff's parking space and that Theo was down the street at a dive-bar playing pool, trying not to think about him. Liam ran around, frantically looking for any sign of Theo. Giving up, he walked down the street wondering the fastest route back to the hotel. All of a sudden, he stopped in his tracks.

 _Is that…?_

 _It can't be._

Liam had caught the scent from the parking lot, but this time it was stronger. He turned his head and looked through a dark window of a bar.

 _He can't be…_

 _Can he?_

There were old men with long beards smoking cigarettes in the parking lot. Liam walked around them, sending them a nod. He pushed through the door. The scent of Theo rushed at him. Liam took the bar in, only looking for the chimera.

"We should start putting some money on this, Jeff," Liam heard Theo's voice say.

He whipped around and followed where it was coming from. In the corner, pool stick in hand, was a bearded Theo looking victorious.

Liam rushed at him. He jumped the pool table and pinned him against the wall.

"What the—-" Theo roared, but then stopped, "Liam?"

"What the hell!" Liam roared back.

"What are you doing here?" Theo said apprehensively.

Liam was furious. Did Theo not get that he came for him? He felt stupid, of course Theo didn't care. He felt himself growing embarrassed. Liam pushed him against the wall, hard and wound back.

"Wait, wait, wa—" Theo pleaded, but Liam punched him in the nose and let go. Theo slide down the wall.

"Hey, kid," Liam heard a man say from behind him. "We don't want trouble,"

"It's okay Jeff," Theo said, standing up, but still holding his nose.

Liam looked around, everyone in the bar was staring at him. Embarrassment was filling his body, rising his blood. Theo placed his hand on his arm, sending a cooling wave through him. Liam let a sigh escape.

"Let's go outside," Theo suggested, pulling Liam behind him.

The old men were still chain smoking, so they walked around to the back of the building. Neither said a word. They just stared into each other's eyes. Liam broke the silence.

"Why did you leave?"

"Why didn't you stop me?" Theo responded.

"I don't know," Liam declared, "I wish I had though. Why didn't you return my calls?"

"You called?" Theo looked genuinely shocked.

"Yeah, every night. You didn't get my voicemail?"

"You left a voicemail?" Theo asked. Liam backed away, leaning against the wall of the building. "I had to sell my phone, I was out of money."

Theo looked at the ground awkwardly. He backed into a shadow.

"Why San Diego?" Liam asked, curious.

"Sacramento wasn't far enough, no where was far enough. They wouldn't let me into Mexico without a passport."

"You shouldn't have left," Liam said again.

"You should have stopped me," Theo said, stepping forward into a sliver of the moon.

Liam looked up, Theo was right. Theo took another step towards Liam.

"What did the voicemail say?" Theo asked, slyly smiling at Liam.

"It doesn't matter, you didn't listen to it." Liam didn't want to say it out loud. He doubted that if Theo had picked up that night, he wouldn't have been able to say it in the first place.

There was a crunching sound, as if someone was coming at them. They both pivoted in there spots to see Jeff walking towards them.

"Everything 'kay, Theo?" Jeff asked protectively.

He glared at Liam and Liam looked down at his feet.

"Everything is cool, I'll be back in soon."

"Bar closed. Time to head home."

"Okay, just give me a second."

Jeff nodded and left but not before give Liam the stink eye one last time.

"Who even is that guy?" Liam asked, not meaning to sound jealous.

"Jeff," Theo said, taking one last step, closing the distance between the two of them, "I have to go…"

"Come to my lacrosse tournament today, we can talk after." Liam suggested.

"Where?"

Liam gave Theo the address expecting him to leave after. However, they both stood there, staring at the other, inches apart. Liam imagined what would happen if he kissed Theo. He even leaned forward, but stopped himself. He had no idea what Theo was thinking and he wasn't about to kiss him for the third time without knowing.

"You better get going," Liam urged.

"Yeah," Theo said, backing away. "Goodnight,"

Theo turned and left.


	7. Chapter 7

"Who was that?" Jeff asked when Theo climbed into the car.

They were driving away from the bar, towards their apartment.

"Liam," Theo shrugged, leaning his head against the window.

"Is he also a werewolf?" Jeff asked.

Theo sprung up.

 _How could he know?_

"What?" Theo stammered, "How—- wait…"

Jeff nodded.

"You're a werewolf too." Theo concluded.

Jeff kept nodding.

"Did you always know?"

"Always know what? The werewolf thing or the gay thing?"

"It's not so much a gay thing… it's a Liam thing."

Liam was the first person he had ever felt anything for and what he felt was strong. He wasn't sure if he would identify as a gay man, but if that's what it was, it didn't matter to Theo. All that mattered was Liam. All that ever matter since being back was Liam. They drove in silence for a minute.

"Are you going to meet him tomorrow?" Jeff inquired.

"Yeah," Theo responded.

"Why? Isn't he why you left Beacon Hills?"

Theo was going to ask how he even knew about that but then remember he wore Liam's sweatshirt almost every night.

"My whole life, I've been literal shit. He makes me want to be better."

"You're too hard on yourself," Jeff assured him.

"Jeff, I've killed people. I killed them for their power. I even murdered my own sister for her heart. Then I killed Liam's alpha. I've killed so many innocent people, but my eyes aren't blue. You know why they aren't blue? I didn't feel guilty. I didn't feel remorse. I didn't feel anything. Then I was sent to Hell and Liam brought me back. I was a monster, but he still brought me back. He gave me a second chance and somehow, someone who had never cared for another human in their entire life, cares a whole lot for a beta with anger issues."

"That Theo you're talking about, isn't the one I know." Was all that Jeff said but it was enough to give Theo a little peace of mind.

They climbed the stairs together to their apartment when they got home but went their own ways when Theo went straight for his room and shut the door behind him. He fell back on his bed and stared tirelessly at the ceiling. He genuinely had no idea what would happen when he saw Liam tomorrow. He figured that there could be a few different outcomes.

1.) Liam would tell him that everything that happened, shouldn't have.

2.) Liam would tell him he didn't trust him and never would.

3.) Theo would tell Liam he wish he left him in the ground (which half the time he wasn't sure was a lie or not).

4.) Liam would tell him that he wish he never left.

5.) Theo would tell Liam he wish he hadn't either.

6.) Liam would ask him to come back to Beacon Hills.

7.) They would kiss and it would be magical just as it had been the first two times.

Theo hoped for 4-7 but thought realistically that 1-3 were more likely to happen at tomorrow's game. As far as anyone knew, Liam was straight. He had only ever dated Hayden and she was definitely a girl.

Theo rolled onto his face.

 _But he kissed me._

 _He initiated everything._

 _Liam invited me over._

 _Liam invited me into his bed._

Theo replayed the memories of straddling Liam, kissing his neck. He remembered feeling Liam grow hard against his groin and the rhythm Theo had gotten into rubbing his shirtless body against Liam's. Now, it was Theo's turn to stiffen. He started slowly, taking his cock in his bare hand working it up. His penis in one hand and cradling his balls in the other, his mind stayed on Liam. He came quicker than expected and exploded over his sheets with a moan.

He ripped the sheets off, threw them into the hamper, and remade his bed with new ones from the hall closet. Theo lay in bed, eyes open, playing all scenarios over in his head.

"What are you doing?" Jeff asked Theo, breaking his trance.

Theo blinked, and realized he was in the kitchen. On the counter was a tower of waffles.

 _Did I make all of these?_

He concluded that he was as he was standing in front of the waffle maker that was on and cooking another.

"You hungry?" Jeff asked, starting to make coffee.

"Not particularly," Theo responded. He couldn't even think about eating. All he could think about was that he was going to see Liam in a few hours.

"You don't need to be nervous," Jeff told him.

Jeff took the plate of waffles and sat down at the round table. He drowned them in maple syrup. Barely cutting them up, he inhaled them all.

"I'm not nervous."

"Yes you are," Jeff insisted, "I'm a werewolf remember which means I can smell your anxiety. Which reeks by the way."

"Okay, so I'm a little nervous," Theo gave in. "I just don't know what's going to happen today."

"Well, what do you want to happen?"

Theo took the waffle out of the maker and put it on a green plate. He sat down across from Jeff, cut the waffle up into small, bite sized pieces, and took a bite.

"I want him to ask me to come back to Beacon Hills. I want him to tell me he wants me. I want him to admit it, even if it's just to himself."

"You think he will?"

"I doubt it," Theo concluded, "he's more stubborn than me. He wouldn't say he was wrong… even if he was."

"Do you think he wants what you want too?"

"That's what I spent all night thinking about."

Jeff wished Theo luck and left for the zoo. He said that he would cover for Theo— tell Martin that he was sick and couldn't get out of bed. Theo climbed into the shower and cleaned himself all over twice. He subconsciously put Liam's hoodie on and a pair of blue jeans. He finished with his white converse.

When he was ready, he climbed into his barely driven truck and made his way to the tournament. He found it pretty easily, there was a lot of signage and traffic. It was some national tournament. From the looks of it, these were the best teams in the country. There were multiple fields and by the time he found the one Beacon Hills was playing on, they had already started. Theo spotted an open spot near the top of the bleachers and maneuvered his way around the other spectators.

Eyes on the field, he scanned for Liam. He quickly spotted his number nine, as he was the one with the ball. Liam was charging at the other goal. A defender went to knock him over by stepping in front of him, but Liam twirled around him and whipped the ball at the net, zooming pass the goalie. A rush of excitement and pride jolted through Theo's body. He shot up and applauded as the crowd cheered.

The game continued in about the same manner for the first period. During the second period, Liam was about to score when a defender knocked him down, hard. Liam roared in anger and rushed the defender, grabbing him by the shirt. Theo watched as Corey and Nolan ran towards Liam, trying to coax him into calming down. The ref was making his way over, and Theo was worried he might card Liam for his aggression as he was now shaking the boy.

"Liam," Theo whispered so his neighbors couldn't hear him, "Liam, can you hear me?"

Theo saw Liam's head perk up.

"What the hell are you doing?" Theo asked, "You're going to lose the penalty."

"Shut up," Theo's ears picked up.

Theo watched as Liam shook his head and let go of the defender. Liam caught the ball when the ref threw it to him, giving him the penalty. It was just Liam and the goalie. Theo wasn't even the little bit nervous.

"You totally have this," Theo whispered, "just breath."

Liam's shoulders lifted and dropped slowly. He wound up and shot. It hit the back of the net and Theo was the first to stand and cheer. By the end of the game, Liam had scored two more. Everyone charged at Liam when the ref blew the whistle indicating that the game was over. The scoreboard board declared Beacon Hills the winner by three points. Nolan ran and chest bumped Liam. Liam, excited, knocked him over with his force and helped him up, both taking their helmets off. His team clapped his back as they walked off the field.

Earlier, Theo had noticed a few college scouts in the stands. He looked at them now, they were all making notes and looking at number nine. Everyone was looking at Liam, but Liam was looking at Theo. Theo smirked and Liam smiled back before Coach got in his face.

"Congrats Dunbar," Coach yelled, "You finally got that stick out your ass. Whatever motivated you today, keep it."

Theo felt a tap on his shoulder. He turned, there was a shadow standing over her.

"Mason?"

 _What the hell was this kid doing here?_

"What's with the beard?" Mason asked, sitting down next to Theo. Theo slid over.

"I didn't pack a razor."

"What are you doing here?"

"I moved here," Theo responded, growing irritated. Mason didn't care about him, why was he asking all these questions.

"No, like at the game." Mason explained.

"Supporting the team. Once a cyclone, always a cyclone right?"

"You don't care about lacrosse. Or the team. Or anything for that matter."

"That's not true" Theo said quietly but defensively.

"So you do care?" Mason inquired.

He leaned forward slightly, ready to be proven wrong. Theo looked down at Liam. The team was gathered around Coach, Liam's back to him, but head turned slightly. He was clearly listening.

"Of course I care," Theo finally said, more to Liam than to Mason "You'd think after everything, that I wouldn't?"

They both were watching Liam. His head was turned back to normal. He could still be listening, but it was unlikely.

"You're going to end up hurting him," Mason said, "You already have, just by leaving. He won't admit it, but you're absence effects him more than Hayden's did. I can see it. I know you're a chimera who could easily tear me apart with a flick of your claws but if you hurt him again, I will hunt you down and kill you myself."

Theo turned to look at him. Mason was staring at him, into his soul. He was telling the truth. He didn't have to listen to his heart to know that. Eyes were as honest as the heart.

The stands had cleared out during their talk and Theo was surprised to just how much they had. Only the college reps were left. Mason got up, they nodded at each other, and went down to wait for Corey. Soon, Coach let them loose and Liam turned to him. He began to climb the bleachers but was stopped by the reps throwing business cards at him. Theo didn't need to listen to know they wanted him to come visit their school and talk with them about playing Lacrosse for them.

"Hey," Theo said when Liam shook them free.

"Hey," Liam sat down next to him, leaving space.

"That was pretty impressive," Theo said, eliminating the space. Their thighs were touching just as they had at the hospital.

"No it wasn't," Liam blushed.

"I've never actually seen a lacrosse game before, so I might not be the best judge but those college scouts seemed pretty impressed," Theo grabbed the cards from Liam's hands.

"You have four different colleges interested in you," Theo said, he nudged Liam with his shoulder, "I bet at least one of these has a great History program."

"Yeah, but none of them are even close to Beacon Hills," Liam huffed.

"Do you really want to stay there your whole life?" Theo asked.

"Scott left me in charge. It would burn to the ground without me."

"Scott left?"

"Yeah, and Malia and Stiles and Lydia. It's just me, Mason, and Corey… and Nolan… but I don't really count him. What were you and Mason talking about?"

"You," Theo said matter-factually.

He waited for Liam to respond, but he didn't.

"How did you find me?" Theo wondered aloud.

"I had Stilinski run your plates and saw a report of you sleeping in your car the day after you left. Then I started calling you, but you never picked up. Last week someone finally did, but it wasn't you. She told me where she bought the phone and it was right down the street from where you slept. I was going to drive down, but my car ate shit awhile ago, and Mason wouldn't let me borrow his car for the twelve hour ride so I waited until the tournament. Once here, I didn't know where to go, I walked around and ended up at the zoo picking up your scent. Then it got stronger and I found you at that scummy bar."

Theo took it all in, Liam had actively looked for him, and was actually able to find him. He was impressed before, but now, now he was confused. Why would he act like this but never say anything.

"What did the voicemail say?"

"I'm not telling you!" Liam grew red.

"Come on," Theo pried, "What did it say?"

"I am not saying anything," Liam repeated.

"Don't be such a baby," Theo mocked.

"Shut up!" Liam's voice was raising.

"Seriously, Liam, what did it say?" Theo wanted to know, but he wouldn't be pushing this hard if it wasn't easily getting under Liam's skin.

"You're so infuriating!" Liam shouted and stood up.

"I'm infuriating?" Theo shouted back, "You're infuriating."

They had gained the attention of Mason and a few of the players who were mulling around. Theo grabbed Liam's hand and tried to pull him back down but Liam swatted his hand away.

"Don't touch me!" Liam said, still shouting.

"Okay, calm down, you don't have to tell me."

"You're right," Liam said, "and I don't have to deal with this."

Liam started walking down the bleachers.

Theo sprinted to catch up with him.

"So you're just going to walk away?"

"At least I'm not running," Liam scoffed.

"That's not fair," Theo insisted, "That was different."

"Yeah?" Liam stopped in his tracks and whipped around to face Theo, "How so?"

"No one trusted me," Theo answered, testing the waters, "No one wanted me."

"That isn't true and you know it."

"Then who did? Who asked me to stay?"

Liam was silent. He continued walking. He pushed pass Corey and Mason. Theo tried to follow but they stood in his way.

"Move," Theo demanded.

"No," They said in unison.

"Fine," Then to Liam who was still walking away, "you're being an idiot."

Theo turned to leave but not before saying "have a nice life". He wanted Liam to be happy and if all Theo could do was aggravate him, then maybe happiness wouldn't be found with him in the picture. He walked to his truck and hoped in. He slammed his fist into the steering wheel. The horn blared. He punched it again. And again. And again. The horn screamed, echoing his inner thoughts.

 _Why was he so protective of the voicemail?_

 _What the hell did he say?_

 _I need to hear it._

Theo collected himself and sped home. On the corner table was a house phone. It was one of those old ones with the cord. He picked it up and sat down in the chair he ate breakfast in. He dialed his old number. It rang three time before a woman's voice answered.

"Hello?" She said.

"Hi," Theo began, "I use to own the phone you bought—"

"Theo?" The woman asked.

"How do you know who I am?" Theo asked, freaked out.

"Your… Liam called and I picked up. He was looking for you. He actually left you a voicemail awhile back. I'm going to be honest, I started to listen to it but I felt like I was invading your privacy so I quickly stopped."

"That's actually what I'm calling about. Do you still have it?" Theo asked hopefully.

"Yeah, I felt weird deleting something that wasn't meant for me."

"Would it be possible for me to listen to it?"

There was a pause.

"I don't see why not."

"Can I listen to it now?" It was a Saturday, most normal people had that off.

"I'm busy right now, but I'll be at Tuna Harbor later tonight if you want to meet at the Kissing Statue at 8."

"How will I know it's you?"

"I'll be the blind one with the Dalmatian."

Theo thanked her for letting him do this. He couldn't believe he was finally going to hear what Liam refused to repeat. He putted around the house for an hour, picking it up. The apartment was small, so he finished with that and decided to kill time by taking his laundry to the laundry matt down the street.

He picked up a ham sandwich at the market next door and ate it while his clothes spun in the washer. When it beeped, he took his time moving them over. Every move was well calculated. He couldn't think about what the voicemail said anymore or he might go crazy so he was trying to focus extra hard on the task at hand.

Theo people watched as his clothes cycled through the dryer. There were all walks of life in today. He was surprised he had been able to get a free washer as soon as he came in. Saturdays were usually pretty busy, and this one was no exception. Kids ran around, chasing each other while mothers sat and read a magazine or tried to get work done between their kids yelling for "mom".

He carried his hamper back to the apartment and up the flights of stairs. The clock on the wall told him he still had two hours until he was to meet the blind woman with the Dalmatian. Absentmindedly, he left the apartment once more and started walking. He couldn't wait any longer. He headed to the Harbor. Having lived in the city for a month, he had figured out how to navigate it pretty well. He might not have known the exact turns but he eventually found the harbor. The statue the woman had told him to meet her at loomed over him. The longer he sat there staring at it, the more he thought it was mocking him. The war had just been won, the soldiers came home, and this man pulled a woman in and took her breath away with a kiss. It was beautiful. And here he was, the war won (or damn near it) and no Liam to sweep off his feet in a passionate kiss.

If the voicemail hinted at Liam being the tiniest bit interest, Theo decided he would put it all out there. He would tell him how he felt and see if Liam felt the same way. Theo couldn't live like this anymore— in Liam Limbo. Even if Liam never wanted to see Theo again, knowing that would be better than not knowing anything.

 _Right?_

He was pondering this when something caught his eye. It was the woman. It had to be the woman. How many women in San Diego have a Dalmatian and are blind in the harbor at this specific time. He watched her sit down on a bench on the other side of the statue. Theo stood and left the shade of the tree he had been leaning against.

She sensed him as he neared and turned her head in his direction ever so slightly.

"Ma'am," Theo's voice shook.

"Theo," She wasn't asking.

She patted the space next to her. Theo sat down. She rummaged through her purse and handed him his old phone. It felt familiar in his hand. He just looked at it, his body catatonic. This was the moment. He was about to find out what was so terrible that Liam wouldn't say out loud. This is what he wanted to know, but his fingers didn't move. The woman placed her steady hand on his trembling one.

"You can do it," She encouraged.

He breathed deep and found the voicemail.

"Excuse me," Theo pressed play and stood up.

He wasn't about to listen to Liam sitting next to a complete stranger. His breath caught in his throat at Liam's soothing voice.

"Hey… It's me… Liam… Liam Dunbar… You knew that…I had a lacrosse game tonight. We won. I actually scored two of the goals. Anyways, that's not the point. We played Devenford and everyone was ganging up on me, knocking me to the ground. It got so bad that one guy was pummeling me into the field and I wolfed-out. He didn't notice, but I couldn't get it under control. My mantra didn't work. Nothing worked until Corey told me to find my anchor… and I thought of you. You Theo. You stupid fuckn idiot. You left and now I'm worse than ever before. I can feel it. I've been wolfing-out all week. The full moon was tonight and I could feel every nerve in me telling me to rip his throat out. But you were there and I was safe. Come back. I should have told everyone why I trust you. I should have told Scott why you deserve to be in the pack, but I didn't. Scott and everyone are gone off trying to find Monroe. You can move in and we can figure this out. We have to give this a shot. Please. Anyways, call me back. Theo I… goodnight."

 _What?_

 _I'm his anchor?_

 _I could not have heard that right._

Theo replayed the messaged. By the end of the fourth replay, Theo was starting to believe that Liam really thought Theo was his anchor. He knew that he could always calm Liam down, the memory of Theo stopping Liam from killing Gabe came rushing back to him.

 _But Hayden is his anchor?_

 _No, Hayden was his anchor._

Hayden had left and when she did, Liam was devastated and out of control. From the sound of it, the same thing had happened when Theo booked it. So, maybe he was Liam's anchor. Suddenly, a huge smile, teeth and all, spread across his face.

He listened to the message again.

 _He wanted you to come back!_

 _He wanted to give this— us— a shot!_

 _But, does he still?_

Despite his actions earlier, Theo thought that Liam might. He had looked all month for him, calling him almost everyday. Even if he never admitted it, he wanted Theo. He might even need Theo. No one had ever needed or even wanted him before. He wasn't even sure how to handle it. All he knew, was that he needed to talk to him right now.

He allowed himself to listen one last time, trying to memorize every word before handing it back to the woman, thanking her profusely, and running back to the lacrosse fields in a desperate hope that they were still there. The fields were dark and abandoned when he got there.

Liam's scent was nowhere to be picked up. Next to the gates was a directory with a schedule for the following day and Beacon Hills wasn't on it. They must have lost their other games and were kicked out of the tournament. Theo wondered if they were even still in San Diego. There was a hotel down the street and using his last bit of hope up, he walked into the lobby and went to the front desk.

"Hi," Theo said to the receptionist, "Can I leave a message for one of your guests, Liam Dunbar. He's with the Beacon Hills High School."

Theo had no idea if the team had even stayed in the hotel, but he didn't know what else to do.

"Oh, sir," she responded, her head bobbing incessantly, "they checked out this afternoon."

"Thanks," Theo said sincerely.

Knowing that they had actually been here, and knowing that they had left told him that they were on their way home and he knew where that was. The only question was, was he really about to drive twelve hours back to Beacon Hills. He played with the idea on his run back to the apartment. He didn't officially decide, but once he was in his room, he started packing a bag. In the kitchen, he left a note for Jeff telling him he was safe and going to Beacon Hills. He wasn't sure when he'd be back so he signed it, "Thanks, Theo".

Before leaving, he took the money out of the foosball fund jar and counted it. They nearly had $100 saved up. He debated taking it and remembered his tank was only half full and his savings, though existent was pretty thin. He added to his note: "P.S. Sorry, I'm taking the foosball money. Don't hate me" and left the apartment, not sure what was going to happen next.


	8. Chapter 8

The scene of Coach tossing Liam onto the bus and yelling at him that he was a disgrace stopped playing in his head when the memory of Theo shouting after him to turn around and talk took over. Needless to say, the ride back to Beacon Hills was terrible. No one, not even Mason or Corey, talked to him. He had ruined the game and caused them to lose. He had grown so angry after Theo had left, again, that he had taken it out on a player. Liam had been wolfed-up, tackled the defender, and pounded him repeatedly into the group when he knocked the ball out of his stick. It had been an overreaction he had not been able to control.

He was kicked out of the game and not allowed into the next one since it was the same ref. Beacon Hills lost both games, losing their place in the tournament. Coach had been so mad he made everyone pack up and leave immediately but not before blowing the whistle in Liam's ear a few dozen times between his yells. His ears were still ringing when he woke up and they were at the high school.

"7am practice tomorrow." Coach said through clenched teeth in which he received a reply of groans, "Every second you are late, you will be running suicides. Every complaint I get will be rewarded with fifty push-ups. Every time I remember Liam beating that kid up, you will each do laps. Now, leave before I have half a mind to start practice right now and not end until sun-up."

They all scurried off the bus. Mason drove him home. As always, Mason's hand was in Corey's lap and they rode in silence with occasional light conversation exchanged between the two of them. Liam was never included.

"See you at practice tomorrow," Corey said as Liam shut the door behind him. He was going to wave bye, but Mason drove off.

 _What the hell is his problem?_

 _It's not like he is effected by this._

His alarm clock was the only light in his room when he walked in. It read 3:03 in the morning. Liam threw himself on the bed and prepared himself for a sleepless night. He was thinking about how terrible tomorrow's practice would be when he drifted off into a deep sleep. He dreamt that Theo was with him, laying there next to him. There wasn't much to the dream, but it still felt nice. Really nice.

"Liam," A muffled voice broke through, "Liam."

Liam blinked his eyes opened to see his step-dad at the door in his scrubs.

"What time is it?" Liam asked, rubbing his eyes and sitting up.

"Almost seven," He responded and Liam threw himself out of bed. "You're mom said she heard you come in late last night. Where were you?"

"San Diego," Liam said throwing practice clothes on.

"San Diego? How the hell were you in San Diego?"

"There was a lacrosse tournament. The whole team went."

Liam pushed passed his step-dad and galloped down the stairs. He grabbed a banana from the fruit bowl in the kitchen, barely noticing his mother slaving over the stovetop.

"Did you know he was in San Diego?" His step-dad came into the kitchen asking.

"What?" His mother turned around, spatula in hand, shocked.

"Guys," Liam begged, "I can't do this right now, I'm late for practice. Coach is going to murder me."

Liam didn't give them the chance to stop him. He sprinted out of the kitchen and bounded out the door. A body stopped him.

"What the hell?" Liam exclaimed.

Theo was blocking his way.

"Get out of my way!" Liam demanded.

He was so late and was so never going to hear the end of it from Coach, let alone the team.

"I don't have time for whatever this is," Liam continued when Theo didn't move.

Theo just stood there looking at him. He looked… lost.

"Seriously, Theo—"

"So," Theo slowly started, "I'm your anchor?"

Liam felt hot as his cheeks flushed. He was about to deny it but then Theo's hands were cupping either side of his face. Theo's face was getting closer. Liam closed his eyes expecting Theo's lips to land on his own in a matter of seconds. Nothing. Liam blinked his eyes open. Theo was staring deep into them, taking it all in. A swirl of emotion was written all over his face. Liam wanted him to kiss him already. He leaned forward, just going to do it himself, but Theo held him there. Liam stared deeply back. It wasn't just eye contact. It was a conversation. Everything they were too afraid to say out loud, they said now.

Theo's mouth was suddenly on Liam's. His brain lit up and cleared. All thoughts escaped him— all worries. Liam's eyes fluttered shut in ecstasy. Their tongues, already knowing each other, stayed at bay, but Theo's lips still knock all the air out of him. Inexorably, Liam leaned into Theo who's hands dropped from his face to wrap Liam up, crushing him into himself. Theo was the one to break the kiss.

"Well, you're my home," The muttered, not breaking eye contact.


End file.
